Simplifying and…

Simplifying and standardizing an Official Plan’s structure and content:
In consideration of changes contemplating mandatory headings and order, the Town of Oakville notes that the proposed standard chapter order omits opportunities for policies which consider housing, sustainability, commercial, as well as secondary plans and special policy areas. The Town requests:
• these remain considered within the context of Official Plans
• confirmation whether subheadings, not shown in the proposed standard chapter order, would be available to municipalities

In consideration of changes contemplating limiting development standards and site-specific policies in Official Plans (e.g. building heights, lot sizes, densities) and moving these standards to zoning by-laws, the Town notes these policies are provided in Official Plans to establish overall development yields, understand long-term planning for infrastructure capacity, and also relate to existing and planned community character. Moving all development standards to a zoning by-law would require all lands to be pre-zoned for these conditions, often in the absence of available physical infrastructure and community service facilities. Zoning by-laws would require holding “H” provisions to ensure these conditions are satisfied. Pre-zoning properties for mixed-use development is also incredibly challenging given the many unique site challenges which cannot easily achieve alignment with parent zoning standards.

In consideration of changes contemplating the elimination of secondary plans and site-specific policies, the Town does not support this. Secondary plans are often created with the community involvement and provide details specific to a unique geography that other general policies cannot. Given the considerable community engagement that has gone into creating secondary planning areas, it would also be disrespectful to suggest that these plans no longer have a place within the Town’s Official Plan. Should the Province continue to move forward with this initiative, the Town strongly encourages increased statutory importance on master plans and/or guidance materials, to enable municipalities to continue to respond to community character, and existing and planned contexts.

In consideration of the number and types of standardized schedules, overlays and data, the Town has significant concerns that the listed schedules do not address the needs in Oakville, including secondary plans which provide for a range of matters including future proposed road patterns, conceptual locations for future park and open space, and building heights which provide for greater nuance, reflective of existing built-up areas. The Town seeks additional clarity on the proposed mapping, including wastewater and stormwater mapping.

Limiting the length of Official Plans:
In consideration of the changes contemplating limiting the length of Official Plans, for example, by setting a page limit (e.g. 250 pages) or word limit (e.g. 65,000 words), the Town views this as overly restrictive.

Limiting the length of Official Plans to create more streamlined documents does not achieve the objectives of ensuring that all local policy matters are considered fully. It may exclude important language on how developments may move forward in certain circumstances, leading to delays via improper interpretation of plans, and/or lack of guidance within Official Plans. Further, there is concern that this could limit the local planning authority from achieving strategic plan goals, meeting local community needs/wants, and require an increase in supportive documents to the Official Plan (e.g. guidelines).

Should this initiative be carried forward, the Province will need to consider the complexity of local planning contexts and requirements, as some municipalities have a much broader spectrum of policy considerations which will require longer Official Plans than others, such as:

• conformity with a greater number of Provincial Plans and strategies
• municipalities with both rural/agricultural and urban areas
• single-tier vs. two-tier municipalities with varying policy requirements
• complexity of urban areas (e.g., PMTSA, MTSA, growth corridors)

The Province should consider other approaches to assist municipalities reducing the length of their plans, including standard policy language to conform to its Provincial Plans, and move forward with revoking outdated plans such as the Parkway Belt West Plan.

Creating standardized permissive land use designations:
In consideration of the proposed changes being contemplated to standardize the number and type of land uses designations that can be used in Official Plans, the Town is concerned that this will not capture the breadth and depth of requirements needed by Ontario’s municipalities. These proposed changes may make municipalities far less capable in appropriately managing the increasingly complex land needs unique to each municipality.

The proposed land use designations provided in the ERO posting do not capture many of Oakville’s specific land uses, including for example, high density residential, all commercial designations, a range of employment designations, and private open space areas, among others. A detailed review of the Town’s Official Plan against these proposed designations is required.
The land use designation framework is a key underpinning of Official Plans. Without local municipal autonomy to establish a land use planning framework for their own communities, numerous unintended consequences are likely with the potential to create greater confusion for municipalities, the public and the development community.

Should the Province move forward with this initiative, the Town suggests that standardized land use categories be provided by the Province at a higher level, with the ability given to local municipalities to establish a set number of sub-designations that better cater to their individual needs and planning frameworks. This would provide some structure to Official Plans across Ontario, while still providing local autonomy and nuance that reflects local conditions and community goals and objectives.

There are implications to making land use designations too streamlined and permissive, as they may open development permissions that are unintended and not planned for.

Land use planning is best suited to local municipalities. For example, the Province’s proposed natural heritage designation is described as follows:

Natural Heritage: Designated for the conservation of ecological features and functions, including core natural areas and linkage areas. Permits environmental protection areas, and identifies areas where development is not permitted, such as natural hazards.

This language is concerning as it highlights that no development is permitted in natural hazards, but does not indicate other aspects of the natural system outside of hazards. It should be clarified that development is not permitted in the Natural Heritage System which includes both mapped and unmapped features. Furthermore, it should be clarified that buffers are also apart of the natural heritage system. The natural heritage system is constantly evolving, and not all the natural heritage system is captured through zoning. Typically mapping of the natural heritage system is only a generalization and delineated/refined through technical study and unmapped features are warranted protections through policy.

Another example relates to employment areas. The Town has invested significant resources to respond to major provincial changes regarding employment areas in line with the provincial direction. The Town is concerned that the proposal to limit Official Plan designations so that there are only two employment related designations, both of which would fall under an “area of employment”, would undermine this work and minimize the ability to protect the Town’s employment areas for the long term.

Providing a transition framework to the new Official Plan framework:
If new land use planning rules are enacted, the Province is considering provisions to facilitate an orderly transition to the new rules. Options being considered applicable to Oakville include:

• requiring new Official Plans to comply with a new Official Plan framework at the next five- or 10-year update, as required by the Planning Act, or
• setting a date for Official Plans to comply with the new Official Plan framework, including large and fast growing municipalities, within two years of a new framework coming into force

The Town agrees that transition provisions are necessary to help municipalities align with a new Official Plan framework. For the Town to implement these proposed changes, it will likely require a new Official Plan to replace the Town’s existing Official Plans.

Given a full rewrite/replacement would likely be necessary, and in consideration of staffing, policy and mapping updates, council cycles, public engagement needs, and the statutory review requirements under the Planning Act, it is likely more than two years would be required to implement the required changes, and alignment with a five or 10-year update would be more appropriate. Notwithstanding, it is not clear when the five- and 10-year review is measured from given the significant changes that have been made to the Ontario Planning framework over the last decade. The Town seeks clarity from the Province on this.

Necessitating the longer review period, the Town must also consider alignment and coordination with other reviews and updates including:

• a review and update to implementing zoning by-laws to ensure that details which would no longer be permitted within an Official Plan, can be captured by the implementing zoning by-law
• should the province eliminate secondary plans and site-specific policy permissions in Official Plans, these would also have to be considered outside of the context of an Official Plan and introduced and/or re-written within a different context/document to ensure these plans are still realized in the manner in which they are currently planned and coordinated with infrastructure (e.g. tertiary plans, and master plans)
• consideration of other planning frameworks must also align with new Official Plans, including Community Planning Permit Systems and other guideline documents such as urban design guidelines

Submitting Official Plans through a new online portal:
In line with a digital-first approach, the province is considering regulatory changes to allow the submission of Official Plan information and documents to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing through an online portal.

The Town supports an online portal that provides greater ease of use and expediency in submissions. Should the province develop an online portal for submission, the Town would seek staff training.

The Town acknowledges the goals of the initiative to simplify and standardize Official Plans. The Town supports efforts to make Official Plans simpler, nimbler, clear, concise, and easier to interpret with greater certainty, with the intention to enable development, reduce potential OLT disputes and other potential administrative delays. It is a worthy effort to remove obstacles to development. It is incumbent upon municipalities to ensure their Official Plans continue to adequately address their council direction while ensuring their respective Official Plans stay at a high level.

Notwithstanding the above, moving development standards out of Official Plans with the intention to make development happen faster, is likely not to happen. It is very likely that documents external to the Official Plan will become more prominent and/or robust, including zoning by-laws, master plans and other guidance documents, to inform decision making to ensure that development can be reviewed appropriately within the context that it is proposed. This could potentially lead to more cumbersome planning frameworks than current.

The Town also notes that a proposed standardized Official Plan framework must remain responsive to and integrate the requirements of the Planning Act, including matters of provincial interest, employment area planning, and community planning permit systems, among others as applicable. Simplified and standardized Official Plan requirements must also ensure that local municipal planning can be consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement 2024.

The Town has considered OLT disputes in the context of standardized Official Plans. The Town is concerned that OLT decisions made in other municipalities may begin to have more impact on local planning matters, given decisions on land use will, as currently proposed, be standardized across Ontario. This may create greater interest from adjacent other municipalities in OLT cases as decisions could potentially have greater bearing on local planning matters. It is unknown how standardized land use designations will be realized over time through the planning process across Ontario.

The proposed direction would remove considerable autonomy from municipalities and limit local planning reflective of local goals and objectives, which respond to local conditions and contexts. While a standardised template could improve consistency and reduce administrative burden, a “one-size-fits-all” Official Plan will be a detriment to all Ontario municipalities. This approach risks removing capacity to address unique local characteristics (employment lands, heritage, natural heritage, coastal/shoreline issues). The Town requests that any standardised templates be optional or include flexibility and funding be provided to allow municipalities to undertake a fulsome Official Plan Review.